Knitted fabric



July 23, 1935. J. LAWSON KNITTED FABRIC 1 Filed Nov. 15, 1954 z WM Patented July 23, 1935 PATENT OFFICE 2,009,361 xNrr'rEn FABRIC John Lawson, Bristol Highlands, R. I., assignor to Lawson Knitting Company, Central Falls, R. I., a corporation of Rhode Island Application November 15, 19314, Serial No. 753,222

15 Claims.

This invention relates to knitted' fabrics and` especially to such fabrics having knitted therein one or more threads such as cotton, silk or articial silk and a thread or strand of uncovered rubber, i. e., a rubber strand or thread without a cotton or other covering. The cotton or other thread and the rubber strand are preferably knitted in all the wales of each course although the threads or rubber strand may be occasionally floated or otherwise knitted in a mannerto produce ornamental fabric.

The cotton or other thread is knitted under sumcient tension to cause the same to plate over the rubber strand or thread at the needle wales thus covering the rubber at the outer face of the fabric, and the rubber strand or thread is knitted under some tension which may be greater', less than, or equal to the tension placed upon the cotton or other thread, the tension placed upon the rubber thread or strand being suflicient to cause considerably more of the cotton thanof the rubber strand to be knitted into the fabric. Consequently after the rubber strand or thread has been knitted into the fabric it contracts laterally and lengthwise and assumes a position on the inner face of the sinker wales, the cotton or other thread thus being plated over the rubber on the inner face of the fabric at the sinker wales.

Fabric knitted in the manner just described is much softer than fabric having incorporated or knitted therein a covered rubber strand, fabric knitted with the commercial, covered rubber strands not as effectively covering the rubber as fabric knitted in accordance with the present invention.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a more or less diagrammatic view showing the outer face of a few wales and courses knitted in accordance with the method of knitting hereinafter to be described but not showing the actual distorted condition of the loops due to the action of the rubber strand;

Fig. 2 is an edge or sectional view taken along the line 22, Fig. l, and showing the cotton or other thread as being plated over the rubber thread to cover the latter on both sides of the fabric;

Fig. 3 is a view of a few stitches showing how the contraction of the stretched rubber strand distorts the 4silk or other yarn;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a ribbed fabric conveniently illustrated as one and one rib; I

Fig. 5 is an edge view of the fabric shown in (Cl, (i6-169) Fig. 6 is a view illustrating the relative lengths of the cotton or other thread and the rubber thread knitted in a given length of fabric; and

Fig. 7 is a view of a napped fabric.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are shown a rubber strand or thread I and a silk, cotton or other thread 2, the latter being plated over the former in the needle Wales 3 on the outer face of the fab'ic, and also covering the rubber strand in the sinker wales 4 on the inner face of the fabric. The thread 2 crosses over from the front face to the rear face of the fabric and vice versa as at 5.

The plating or covering of the rubber strand I .on both sides of the fabric by means of a single silk, cotton or other thread 2 is made possible by causing more of the thread 2 than of the rubber thread to be knitted into the fabric which is conveniently effected, as hereinbefore stated, by maintaining a tension on the rubber thread which results in so shortening that thread (inthe completed fabric) as to permit the longer silk, cotton or other thread to cover' the rubber strand on both sides of the fabric. When the rubber strand is knitted it contracts from its previously stretched position due to the tension, the contraction of the rubber strand necessarily causing the sinker and needle loops of the said rubber thread both to assume a position on the inside of the fabric.

As shown in Fig. 3 contraction of the rubber strand I results in a Wale-wise contraction of the fabric thus causing more courses to be knitted in a given length of fabric than would be the case if non-elastic threads alone were knitted. There is also some lateral contraction of the fabric due to the contractile force of the rubberl thread which causes adjacent wales to be brought more closely together than would be the case if non-elastic threads only were knitted. As indicated clearly in Fig. 3 the rubber strand I is of smaller diameter than the silk, cotton or other thread 2 this being due, in part at least, to the attenuation of the rubber strand when itis placed under tension. The resultant decrease in the diameter of the rubber thread or strand further aids in causing the silk, cotton or other thread 2 more effectively to cover and conceal the rubber on both faces of the fabric. Furthermore, the interstices or small holes formed` in a fabric knitted with non-elastic threads only, are covered over or closed, in part, by the loops 6 of the thread I, said loops 6 being formed by the lengthwise contraction of the fabric and extending from the fabric in the form of pile loops. Also the lengthwise contraction of the fabric causes the loops 'I' to be extended and appear more prom- 6B inently in the fabric. Thus the lengthwise contraction of the fabric causes the loop 6 to appear on the outer face of the fabric and the loops 'I to appear on the inner face thereof, the combined action of the loops 6 and I effectively concealing the usual open work character of the knitted fabric.

The relative tensions placed upon the threads I and 2 are not important: in some cases a relatively light tension placed upon the rubber strand is' sufficient to effect the desired purpose, although, preferably, considerable tension is placed upon the said rubber strand. In this connection, obviously the rubber strand I is stretched to a much greater extent than is a thread 2 when both are subjected to the same degree of tension, and for that reason it is possible to effect the desired result without placing undue tension on the rubber strand. As illustrated in Fig. 6, there is much more of the thread 2 knitted in a given length of fabric than of the rubber 'strand I, there being shown about two and one-half times as much of the silk or cotton thread 2 asv` of the rubber strand I. Although the relative lengths of the threads shown in Fig. 6 are by way of example only, it is desirable that there be at least twice as much of the silk or cotton thread 2 knitted in a given length of fabric as of the strand I.

In Figs. 4 and 5 there is illustrated the application of the invention to a rib fabric which is shown for illustrative purposes as being one and one rib although, obviously, various other proportions of rib and plain wales could constitute the rib fabric. In Fig. 4 the plain wales are indicated at 8 and the rib wales at 9, the threads I and 2 changing their plating relations at I0. By inspection of Figs. 4 and 5, it will be seen that at the plain wales 8 the thread 2 plates over and covers the rubber strand I at the outer face of the fabric and that at the rib wales 9 the silk. cotton or other thread 2 likewise plates over or covers the strand I at the inner face of the fabric. For convenience of illustration, the rubber strand I has been shown as extending above the silk or cotton thread 2 at the needle wales 8 although actually the silk or cotton loops are much longer than and conceal the loops of the rubberstrand.

Although the use of uncovered rubber has been stressed and is preferable, the invention in many aspects does not preclude the use of covered rubber or other elastic strands. However, the uncovered rubber is much more elastic than the covered rubber and consequently more vreadily lends itself to the purposes of present invention because of the fact that it contracts to such an extent as to cause the silk, cotton or other thread to cover and conceal the rubber strands on both faces of the fabric as hereinbefore described.

While it is preferable to knit a single silk, cotton or other thread 2, the same effect is produced by knitting two silk, cotton or other threads and plating one of such threads over the rubber at the outer face of the fabric and plating the other silk, cotton or other thread over the rubber strand at the inner face of the fabric, the plating being conveniently effeced by placing considerable tension on the silk or cotton thread that is to be plated to the outer face of the fabric, placing tension upon the rubber strand and having less tension (and preferably no tension) on the silk xfirbcitton thread plated on the inner face of the In Figure 7 the napped fibers of the fabric are indicated at II.

The plating of the silk, cotton or other threads to cover the rubber strand on both faces of the fabric has hereinbefore been referred to as effected by tensioning the silk, cotton and rubber yarns or strands; obviously the plating effects can be effected in any other manner that will cause the silk, cotton or other threads to plate over the rubber strand at the outer face of the fabric and to cause much more of the silk or cotton thread than of the rubber strand to be knitted into the fabric. Furthermore when plating a rubber strand with two silk or cotton threads, the plating is not necessarily effected by tensioning the silk and rubber threads but may be effected in any other convenient manner.

The fabric hereinbefore described and shown on the accompanying drawing, may be applied to any use to which elastic fabric is advantageously used, attention by way of example being directed to a patent to Lawson 1,843,086, January 26, 1932 and a patent to Lawson et al. 1,996,648, April 2, 1935.

Wherever in the claims and description reference is made to: a non-elastic thread, an elastic thread or to non-elastic or elastic threads, it is not the intention thereby to limit the claims or description to the use of a single non-elastic or of a single elastic thread or strand.

Fabric hereinbefore described may conveniently be knitted on a single feed hosiery or other machine such, for example, as shown in the patent to HemphilLNo. 933,443, September 7, 1909, or on a multi-feed body machine and when knitted on a multi-feed machine there would be a rubber thread or strand, as well as a thread of relatively inelastic material such as cotton, etc., knitted at each of several of the feeding stations.

In the foregoing description the fabric and method of effecting the knitting of the same have been referred to in specific terms; however, there is no intention of limiting the invention otherwise than by specific recitations in the claims themselves.

I claim:

1. A rib knitted fabric having one elastic strand and at least one inelastic strand, the inelastic strand being plated over the elastic strand to cover the latter on both faces of the fabric.

2. A fabric having an elastic strand and a relatively inelastic strand knitted therein, the inelastic strand being formed into pile loops that flll the interstices ofthe knitted fabric.

3. A knitted fabric including an elastic strand and an inelastic strand, the relatively inelastic strand being formed into pile-like loops on both faces of the fabric.

`4. A method of knitting a strand of rubber and a thread, said method including tensioning the thread to plate over the rubber and tensioning the rubber to cause more of the thread than of the rubber to be knitted into the fabric and consequently to cover the rubber.

5. A knitted fabric having incorporated therein a relatively inelastic thread or strand and a relatively elastic thread or strand, the said threads or strands being knitted into the fabric in substantially all the wales and courses thereof, the construction of the fabric being such that the relatively elastic thread is eectively covered on both faces of the fabric by said inelastic thread. i

6. A knitted fabric having incorporated therein a relatively inelastic thread or strand and a relatively elastic and tensioned thread or strand, 76'

the said threads or strands'being knitted into the fabric in substantially all the wales or courses thereof, inelastic thread being plated over the relatively elastic thread in such a manner as to cover the elastic thread on both faces of the fabric.

' '7. A fabric having incorporated therein relatively elastic and inelastic threads or yarns, the construction of the fabric being such that a relatively elastic and tensioned thread or yarn acts upon a relatively inelastic thread in such a manner as to cause the latter to plate over the said elastic thread and cover the same on both faces of the fabric.

8. A knitted fabric having a rubber strand or thread and a non-elastic thread plated over the rubber strand or thread to cover the same on both faces of the fabric.

9. A knitted fabric having two threads, one

being of rubber and one being of non-elastic material, each knitted loop having more of the nonelastic thread than of the rubber thread so as to cover the rubber on both faces of the fabric.

- 10'.,A fabric courses of which are knitted of an elastic thread such as rubber and an inelastic thread, the said courses being composed of at least twice as much of the inelastic thread as of the elastic thread whereby the inelastic thread eiectively cover the elastic thread on both faces of the fabric in said courses.

11. A knitted fabric having knitted therein one relatively inelastic thread, and one threador strand of uncovered rubber, the inelastic thread being plated over the rubber strand or thread to cover the same on both faces of the fabric.

12. A knittedfabric having knitted therein one inelastic thread and one elastic thread as rubber, the inelastic thread being' plated over the rubber thread effectively to cover. and conceal the same on both faces of the fabric, the thread fibres being napped to assist in the covering of the rubber on either face of the fabric.

13. A knitted fabric including a knitted rubber strand and a relatively non-elastic thread knitted therewith, the thread forming pile loops which effectively cover the rubber strand on both faces of the fabric.

14. A method of knitting an elastic strand and an inelastic thread, said'method including covering the elastic strand on both faces of the fabric by said inelastic thread.

15. A knitted fabric including relatively inelastic and elastic knitted strands, the elastic strand being under considerable tension, the tendency of the elastic strand to return to its normal, unstretched condition effectively causing the said elastic strand to be concealed on both faces of the fabric by pile-like loops of inelastic strands.

JOHN LAWSON. 

